Early next year, January 2006, Fujifilm will release their newest digital SLR model, the FinePix S5 Pro. Until then, however, the FinePix S3 will remain Fujifilm's flagship professional camera. The FinePix S3 is powered by a fourth-generation 6.17-megapixel Super CCD SR sensor (23 x 15.5mm). What's unique about this sensor is that it can produce up to 12 million recorded pixels (12-megapixel resolution) when all 6.17 million S-pixels and 6.17 million R-pixels are used. Fujifilm claims that this double photodiode design, which is arranged in a "honeycomb" pattern, improves contrast, broadens tonal capability, deepens shadows, brightens highlights, and provides a 4x increase in dynamic range.


Other important FinePix S3 features include a durable polycarbonate body, bright 2-inch, 235,000 pixel LCD with near 100% frame coverage, additional top LCD that displays important shooting information, dual shutter release buttons, D-TTL flash with full-aperture exposure metering, shutter speeds of 30 seconds to 1/4,000 second, and ISO range of 100 - 1600.

One commonly noted flaw of the FinePix S3 is its speed. When first released, the camera only shot up to 3 frames in RAW at a slow 1.5 frames per second, and 6 frames in JPEG at an even slower 1.0 frames per second  (both in D-range, wide mode). Fujifilm has since produced a $30 buffer upgrade that increases continuous shooting by up to 2.5 times.
The upgrade form can be found here.

Key Features

• 6.17-effective-megapixel sensor - resolution increased to 12.3 megapixels (6.17 million S-pixels and 6.17 million R-pixels) using in-camera technology
• Compatible with Nikon's Nikkor F-series lenses
• 2-inch LCD display with separate LCD data display; PictBridge support; dual shutter release buttons
• Powered by 4 AA-size rechargeable NiMH batteries; stores images on xD or Microdrive media